BHUBANESHWAR: A fact-finding committee appointed by the Union mines ministry has alleged serious violations of mining and environmental laws have been committed in the operations of 23 big mines in Odisha.

The iron and manganese mines covered in the second report of a commission led by former Supreme Court judge, MB Shah, include those of Essel Mining, Sarda Mines, Indrani Patnaik, Serajudin and Co, Mideast Integrated Steel, Aryan Mining and Trading Corporation and Rungta Mines. The report lists a range of violations from excess production and evasion of tax to working without environmental and forest clearances, and in many cases without holding valid leases.

The reports covering Odisha and Jharkhand were tabled in Parliament recently.

In several cases, according to the report, owners of mines have managed to get permissions from various government authorities, which include the state mining department or the central ministry of environment and forests, according to the 98-page action taken report of the ministry.

Many of the lessees have also moved revisional authority at the centre and received stay orders against Odisha government's notices; in some cases, the commission believes the authority "ignored hard facts and legal provisions".

The commission, whose term the former UPA government refused to extend, has in several cases recommended an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The Odisha government has, however, argued that action had been taken and therefore handing over the matter to the central agency would not be required.

A panel of the forest bench of the Supreme Court, the Central Empowered Committee, has been hearing the state and miners in a related petition. Its mandate is to investigate, independent of the commission's findings, allegations of illegal mining and other violations in the state. The report is expected to have political repercussions in Odisha, where opposition has been using the mining controversy to attack Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal government. Some recorded violations, however, date back to the 1990s when the Congress was in power in Odisha.

The report says Serajudin does not hold a valid lease for Balda iron ore mines since 1979. The government of India had rejected a renewal application and the state ordered it shut, but it was allowed to continue on the orders of a deputy secretary to the state that pre-empted a court order. The state government is also pursuing sales and income tax claims against Serajudin, which the report points out had never filed IT returns till March 31, 2011. At the peak of the iron ore boom in 2008-09, Serajudin reported a 4% profit.

One of its contractors, Thriveni Earthmovers (TEMPL), also figures in the report for alleged violation of Rule 37 of the Mineral Concession Rules or MCR, which prohibit transfer of mining rights without prior consent of the state. It points out that while a contractor, TEMPL made considerable payments to group companies of Serajuddin.

Sarda Mines has also been found to be in violation of Rule 37 for, among other reasons, selling all of its unprocessed iron ore to Jindal Steel and Power, which set up crushers in its mine.

The report has recommended that because of the "long pending issue of rule 37 violation and other irregularities" the case be handed over to the CBI.

The state government believes this is unnecessary since the matter is being investigated separately by the Central Empowered Committee.

A Jindal spokeswoman had earlier told ET, "The allegations are not correct."

Alleged transfer of lease from MISL to Mesco and the acquisition of Aryan Mining by Stemcore Holdings also figures in the report. The state has been directed towards the fact that UK-based trader is now looking for buyers for its Indian assets.

The state has promised to look into the charges. Of Essel Mining's leases, the report says "that the lessee has of late attempted successfully to delete leased land for lesser area during the time of renewals with full cooperation and collaboration of officials of the state government at all levels ... and is presently holding all leases in his possession within the 10 sq km.

The commission has similarly noted that the SR Rungta group controls a combined area of 3339.23 ha in Odisha alone, with another 322.94 ha in Jharkhand, or 14-15 leases through various group companies and partnership firms in violation of the same Section 6 of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act.

A sister concern of TEMPL, Orwin Engineering company, along with Arvind Constructions, now hold iron ore an manganese leases, broken up from an original lease granted only to mine manganese in Jurudi area of Keonjhar allotted to Kalinga Mining corporation in violation of Rule 37, the report says.

Among other shortcomings noted in the operations of Indrani Patnaik, the report says that "file notings, sent to the central government in 1998, were manipulated" to change the lease period from 20 to 30 years were while recommending renewal of the lease.